Fluorinated alkanes, as a class, have many and varied uses, including as chemical intermediates, blowing agents and refrigerants.
Several methods for preparing fluorinated alkanes, particularly hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are known. For example, Chem Abstract 55:349c (I. L. Knunyants, M. P. Krasuskaya, and E. I. Mysov, Izvest. Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R., Otdel. Khim. Nauk. 19060, 1412), describe the reduction of a fluorinated olefin, particularly CF3CF═CFH over palladium catalyst (Pd—Al2O3) at room temperature to give a selectivity to the saturated analog (CF3CHFCFH2) of about 60% and a selectivity to CF3CFHCH3 of about 30%. Chem. Abstract 125:167319 (JP 08165256 A2) discloses the reduction of CF3CF═CF2 with hydrogen in a liquid phase reaction using palladium catalysts supported by BaSO4 and/or activated carbon.
Applicants have discovered that the processes of the type described above have disadvantages and/or are not as effective and/or economical as would be practically necessary for large scale commercial production. For example, applicants have come to appreciate that it is generally difficult, costly or not possible, by following the teachings of the above publications alone, to achieve a process having at once a high degree of ultimate conversion and a high degree of selectivity to the desired fluorinated alkane. Applicants have also come to appreciate that none of the above publications disclose even the problem of processes that are burdened with either a low selectivity to the desired fluorinated alkane and/or a throughput capacity that is economically not acceptable on a commercial scale. In other words, the prior processes in general tend to teach that higher selectivity in such processes can come only at the cost of low throughput rates. While such processes may be acceptable for non-commercial operations, applicants have come to appreciate that such processes are disadvantageous for use in commercial production and have proceeded counter to conventional teaching to develop processes which are capable of achieving at once high throughput rates and high selectivity.